


Famous Last Words

by RollForThat



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Medicinal Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, ask to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-04-23 18:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19156312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RollForThat/pseuds/RollForThat
Summary: Virgil hated crowds, and loud parties, and yet he let himself be talked into going.





	1. Radioactive

 

He couldn’t believe he was here. Again.

There were too many people, and the music was too loud… but at least this year he actually knew a majority of the people at this party instead of barely knowing anyone.  He was still super anxious and just like last time, was spending his time absently watching as the show's lead did his thing as the life of the party. It was just that he wasn’t quite as nervous when that voice in the back of his mind asked him what he’d do if that extrovert came anywhere near him.

At least he _tried_ to convince himself that the prospect wouldn’t be quite as nerve-racking as the first time. That time that, despite being specifically invited by a number of people, he’d still had to smoke a bowl beforehand just to calm his nerves enough to even meet up with the handful of techs that were planning on going together. Safety in numbers and all that.

And it had worked. For a while, at least. An hour or so, maybe. Until the less socially anxious of the show's tech crew got a few drinks in them and started diffusing into the party around them.

That’s when it happened.

He’d left the place where he’d been just chillin' at the foot of the stairs, being a wallflower, and had ducked into the kitchen for another drink and a handful of popcorn. Mr. Oozing-Stage-Presence caught him in the hall on his way back. The guy had said something to him, but Virgil had only tuned into the fact he was the one being addressed in time to hear the ginger call him Hot Topic.

“Awww, you think I’m hot,” Virgil snarked back, more automatic defense mechanism than alcohol-fueled confidence. So much of a defense mechanism that it took his brain (and his anxiety) a minute to catch up to what he’d replied to the most popular guy in the production – if not the whole school – to deflect a perceived insult. Oh, but once his consciousness caught up, it made up for things in no time!

Virgil mumbled out an apology, ducking back against the wall and away from the guy who was taller, broader, and clearly buffer than he was. When the guy didn’t laugh at him or move away, Virgil risked a glance up and caught an expression he couldn’t quite read on the other's face.  Virgil balked; god how he wished he could just fade into the wall behind him. Or that the hood on his hoodie had been up so he could hide in there!

The feeling magnified when the guy put his hand on the wall next to Virgil's shoulder, effectively blocking his path back toward the stairs with a perfectly muscled arm encased in the sleeve of a tight, white t-shirt. Virgil still could have escaped back into the kitchen, but fight-or-flight didn’t kick in quite fast enough because the guy had enough time to lean in real close and whisper right in his ear, “so what if I do?”

Ok, _that_ wasn’t an answer Virgil had expected. His dark eyes widened in surprise behind the strands of hair that always fell over them. They widened even more when the other leaned in and pressed their lips to his.

It didn’t last long. Long enough to give a first impression and to show that the earlier comment hadn’t been just a tease. But then he was pulling away enough to look at the younger man's face. Virgil didn’t lift a hand to push him away. Neither of them moved, until Virgil risked a glance up through his bangs at the taller man. The other smiled down at him, then leaned in and kissed him again. This time it was longer and more confident as he urged Virgil's lips to part with tiny swipes of tongue across their warmth.

Virgil was breathless when they parted this time. A nervous, breathy laugh escaped when the other smiled at him again. Realization dawned slowly that the bigger man had shifted to press against him and press his back against the wall. A touch of pink colored Virgil’s cheeks when he realized his hands had found the other’s hips in response.  He didn’t even know the guy's real name!

The actor had the same perfect timing in flirting as he did on the stage, choosing that moment to lean back in and pepper Virgil’s neck and jaw with kisses.  “My name's Roman,” the taller one whispered in his ear between soft, distracting kisses. “What’s yours?”

Roman caught a bit of Virgil’s earlobe between his lips, giving it a little suck.  Virgil stifled the moan, but his hands unconsciously gripped Roman’s hips tighter, bringing their bodies momentarily closer together. “V-Virgil,” he managed to breathlessly stutter out as Roman did it again, this time dragging his teeth lightly over the sensitive skin.

Roman must not have wanted this to get too out of hand even though the press of their bodies together told the both of them that the other was clearly enjoying it. “I was thinking about ducking out fashionably early,” Roman said almost offhandedly as he pulled away with some reluctance from making out with the cute, younger boy. He waited until their eyes met before asking, “do you want to come back to my place?”

        


	2. Disney Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why does everyone call you Princey?"
> 
> "Because I'm royalty."
> 
> Well, at least he acted like a prince.

 

* * *

 

“Why does everyone call you Princey?” Virgil asked, breaking the other away from the soft humming he was doing as they walked through campus.

“Because I’m royalty,” came the confident reply… along with a broad smile and an arm that wrapped itself around Virgil’s shoulders.

“Really?” The sarcasm was thick.

Roman laughed. “No. Not even a little, as far as I know. But my last name really is Prince,” he added. “Got the nickname when I started doing theatre and it stuck. Even through the years I'd been cast as the lead villain because my voice had been the first to drop.”

“So, what about you?” Roman asked after a bit. His arm still lingered around the smaller man's shoulders, though Virgil had made no move to remove his own hands from the pockets of his hoodie. “How long have you been in theatre?”

If Virgil could have shuffled his feet as they walked, he would have. He kept his head mostly down, watching their feet to hide the nervousness of being put on the spot. It didn’t appear to bother Roman; he seemed happy enough to still have Virgil walking right next to him. “Ummm… A while now, I guess?” Virgil answered. “Sixth grade, I think, I started. Backstage, though. Always backstage. I’m not comfortable being on the other side of the lights with everyone looking at me.” He tried to not let his voice grow quieter when he admitted that.

“Still an important roll,” Roman admitted. “What we do on stage wouldn’t be nearly as effective without everything that happens behind the scenes.”

It sounded like Roman really meant that, and it made Virgil feel kinda good. He’d met more than his fair share of leading ladies and gentlemen over the years who thought themselves more important than even the stage managers. Plenty of B-cast who thought that way, as well.  He’d even been part of a stage crew who had walked out a week before opening night because the director was treating his crew like trash.

*****

They were practically in the middle of campus when Roman let his arm fall from Virgil's shoulder so he could dig out his keys. In front of them, light spilled out onto the sidewalk from a long set of picture windows. On the other side of the glass was the common room for the largest dorm on campus.

Of course Princey lived here.

There were many “Welcome Back!” parties happening on and off campus tonight.  The various dorms were no exception, and this common room was still pretty crowded. Virgil didn’t miss how Roman had been greeted by more than a handful of co-eds the moment he’d walked through the door.  Roman returned their welcomes with a broad smile, then turned to lead his companion up the wide staircase between the two sets of propped-open doors.

It got a little quieter after they got past the first landing; Virgil was grateful for that. He’d become instantly nervous the moment he’d seen how many people were in that room. The residual social anxiety must have shown on him, because Roman stopped as they approached the third-floor landing and took his hand.

“You don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to,” the ginger said softly. He tried to catch Virgil’s downcast eyes.  “I want you… I really do. That emo thing looks really good on you, Hot Topic.” Roman caught the little smirk Virgil tried to suppress. “But I won’t hold it against you if you’ve changed your mind,” he added.

Virgil cursed his heightened anxiety for the millionth time as he rubbed the toe of one beat-up Doc Martin against the back of the other. “No – I mean, it’s not – I, ummm –” Virgil cut himself off before he trailed off into a jumbled mess. Or into more of one than he already was. The shorter man took a breath and tried again.

“I do want to… do this. I just… crowds,” he trailed off with a wave of his free hand, as if he could simply magic god-knew-how-many years of anxiety away.

The smile returned to Roman’s lips and eyes. “I’m happy to hear that,” he replied, tipping Virgil’s face up so he could steal a soft kiss.  “I stand by what I said though. If you want to stop, just say something, ok?”

Virgil nodded; Roman let go of his hand so he could swipe his electronic key over the sensor for the security door. “My room's just a few doors down,” he offered, holding the door for Virgil before leading the way.

*****

Roman had one of the private rooms in his dorm, and Virgil was quietly impressed with the guy's ability to make the space look like it had never been just a generic dorm room. There were rich, red curtains framing the slightly open window. It drew out the color in the cream and red rug on the floor. The dresser had a wide strip of red silk draped across the top, and a full-length mirror had been attached to the back of the door. A few framed Disney posters had been hung on the walls, each with a photograph of a younger Roman and his cast-mates in full costume for that particular show tucked into one corner of the frame.  There was even a signed poster for the Broadway production of Lion King among the collection, and a Lion King comforter was spread across the perfectly made bed.

The actor was clearly a Disney nerd.

Roman caught Virgil looking around the room when he turned from putting his keys and phone on his desk. “Yes, I’m a huge Disney fan. No, I’m obviously not ashamed,” he said, gesturing to his clearly Prince Charming-inspired room.

“That’s cool,” Virgil shrugged. A moment’s hesitation, then, “I’m a fan, too.”

“We are so going to have to compare our favorites,” Roman smiled, stepping closer to Virgil. “But, later…” He wrapped a strong arm around Virgil's waist while his other hand lifted the shorter man's chin so he could kiss him again.

Virgil hadn’t known what to expect, but a touch of romance definitely wasn’t it. Though maybe it should have been after seeing this guy’s room. Roman was so much of a fan that he apparently channeled Disney Prince™. Not that Virgil minded. Not even when Roman deepened the kiss or when he felt the other draw him towards the bed.


	3. Opposites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Roman were complete opposites. That didn't faze Roman at all.

* * *

 

That night had been the start of something. Of what, Virgil wasn’t exactly sure. It was hot, yeah, and Roman had waited until the next morning – after taking him out for coffee and breakfast even – before asking him out, but holy hell… the two of them were opposites in so many ways.  Virgil was surprised they could be friends, let alone lovers/boyfriends.

First off, Roman had so god-damned many friends.  So. Fucking. Many.  This was only Roman’s second year in college and already he had more friends on campus than Virgil had made in his whole life.  And not just on campus, either. He had more friends in the local theatre scene than Virgil did – and Virgil had grown up here!

Roman was the kind of guy who could make friends pretty much anywhere. He had friends in all the theatres. He had friends in all of his classes and clubs.  He had friends on Greek Row.  He had friends on the football team and the futbol (soccer) team and the baseball team.  Virgil had even heard that Roman had dated the captain of the rowing team last year. There wasn’t a corner of campus life where Roman didn’t have any friends. That outgoing-as-hell motherfucker had even managed to make friends with teachers he didn’t even have!

Having a boyfriend who knew everyone meant that Virgil’s circle of friends went form practically non-existent on campus to actually having a couple people he was comfortable texting for help with assignments or studying, or for notes on the rare occasion that he missed class.  It also meant that the rest of his freshman year was bound to bring with it an uptick in anxiety attacks.

Not that Virgil blamed Roman. Not at all. It wasn’t like Roman was ever actively trying to give him anxiety attacks.  It was just that Roman was really, really social and Virgil was… not. He never had been.  Not that he could remember, anyway. 

Virgil had lived in the same small house in the same town his whole life.  He could count the number of friends he had on one hand.  Two… he had two people he actually considered friends: Joan, who’d moved away when they were in grade school, but they kept in touch; and Elliott, who was currently attending university a few hours away.  Virgil hadn’t set his sights as high as his friends, but he’d still managed to score a pretty significant scholarship to the arts program at one of the local colleges.  Which meant that he’d had to move across town and into on-campus housing. 

It also meant that that a few weeks ago he’d had to move all the way across town from his childhood home. 

Deciding to pursue a college education despite the likelihood of coming out of it with crippling debt had its payoffs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is currently being written; it's just not flowing from pen to page as quickly as the first couple chapters had. As soon as I have it completed, it will get posted. Hopefully my plot bunny won't leave me before I get from that chapter to the next major plot point I already have sketched out.


	4. October

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you know what happens when the theater kid finds out about a costume party on campus? 
> 
> This. This is what happens.

 

* * *

 

The black bundle in Roman’s arms was dropped on top of Virgil’s math book before the younger of the two could even acknowledge the other’s approach. Virgil looked at the pile of fabric, frowning, then up at Roman, then back at the stuff covering his half-finished homework. “What is this?”

*****

“Absolutely not,” Virgil put his foot down.

“But--” Roman tried to protest.

“When have you ever, since the day you met me, seen me in anything less than jeans and a hoodie? I wear long-sleeved shirts _to bed,_ and you know it,” Virgil added, shooting his now-boyfriend a pointed look. Roman’s smile fell, and Virgil went back to his notes.

Roman’s expression changed from disappointed to thoughtful. “Ok, how about a prince and his knight?” he asked, gently nudging a bowl of fruit across the lunch table toward Virgil.

“You could just clone yourself for that one,” Virgil noted, but dutifully picked a grape out of the grab-n-go bowl and popped it in his mouth.

“Fred and Barney?” Roman queried.

“Pants?” Virgil didn’t even look up from his notes.

“Calvin and Hobbs?”

“I’m not going out in public with either one of us dressed like a furry.”

“Shaggy and Scooby?”

“See previous response.”

Roman was quiet for a moment. “How about gender-bent –”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me finish,” Roman pouted. Virgil looked up at him, unimpressed. Roman beamed one of his 1000 kilowatt smiles back at him. “Gender-bent Elphaba and –”

“No,” Virgil cut him off again firmly.

Roman slumped.

It was a few minutes before the ginger spoke again. “But you’re still going, right?”

“I said I would, Princey.”

*****

It had been five weeks now since Roman had learned the date of the college’s Halloween bash.  It had taken nearly a week for Roman to convince Virgil to go to the event with him.  To this day, Virgil didn’t know how he’d been negotiated into spending a minimum of 2 hours and 20 minutes in the old campus gym with a few hundred sweaty, over-excited college students and a DJ playing music he didn’t like at a volume that would require yelling just to be heard by someone standing next to you.

For the life of him, Virgil _still_ didn’t know how it had happened, only that once Roman had secured his date, he’d started trying to talk him into going in costume.

The last few weeks had been peppered with Roman throwing out costume idea after costume idea. Virgil had spent the time reigning his very theatrical boyfriend in from full-on stage pieces for their whole friend group (aka Roman’s equally enthusiastic theater friends) to simpler costume themes to “pretty please, My Chemically Imbalanced Romance, at least meet me half-way with a couple’s costume?”  Virgil had no choice but to crumble under the weight of the green-eyed pout leveled at him over a bowl of popcorn sometime in the middle of the 4th week.

Roman had thankfully dropped the discussion for a few days after that.  Virgil knew better than to hope he-with-perfect-theater-recall had forgotten or given up, though.  So now here he was, at one of the tables in a back corner of the food court, with a mass of black fabric coving the math homework Virgil absolutely needed to finish before his class in an hour and a boyfriend in the chair across from him who was so visibly excited he was practically vibrating.

“I’m serious, Princey, what is this?” Virgil asked again, poking the bundle with the back of his pencil.

“A hoodie,” Roman managed to get out past the hands he had curled up in front of his mouth.  The man’s green eyes somehow managed to glitter with barely suppressed joy despite the low lighting. 

Virgil put his pencil down with a sigh, picked up the offered garment, and shook it out so he could see it. It was indeed a hoodie.  Basic black with strategically placed patches of black scales and short spikes of the same fabric as the hoodie sticking out in places. The hood was decorated the same way with the addition of slightly longer ears, and the sleeves had been customized with gloves that he could slip his hands into to make them into claws.  A long strip of fabric-spikes defined the spine down the back, which ended in a stylized tail with one red fin.

“The tail’s detachable,” Roman spoke up. “So you can wear it outside of Halloween or Cons.  If you want…” he trailed off uncertainly to Virgil’s continued silence.

Virgil didn’t look up from examining the garment. “Is this… Toothless?”

The red-head beamed! Virgil didn’t have to see his face to know it; he could see it in the sudden change in his boyfriend’s posture.  “It is!”  Roman practically purred with joy.  “Do you like it?”

“This is—” Virgil cut himself off, toning down his own excitement to something more _him_. “Yeah, it’s cool, I guess.  What would you go as then?”

“Hiccup, of course. I was thinking his battle armor instead of his regular clothes, so I wouldn’t attract so much attention when we’re together.” Roman pulled out his phone to show him a picture of the outfit he meant.

To be honest, Virgil couldn’t believe how far out of his way his boyfriend was going for him.  Roman LOVED being the center of attention, but he was being very accommodating to Virgil’s anxiety by trying to find a more low-key couple’s costume for them. He’d even made a hoodie that doubled as an effective yet simple costume for Virgil to wear.  Virgil loved his hoodies.  He could hide in them, cover his face to block out stimuli… and this hoodie even had hand covers, because Roman knew how often Virgil pulled his hoodie sleeves down to at least partially cover his hands.  It was probably the most thoughtful thing Roman had done since they’d met.

“Ok, sure.  We can be Hiccup and Toothless.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long to get finished. The last month has been stressful. Good news is that I know what the next chapter is going to be so as soon as I can get it down on paper it will go up. 
> 
> As always, if I missed a warning, let me know.

**Author's Note:**

> New chapters will be added to this story as I have time to finish them and get them in logical order. Additional tags will be added as new chapters warrant -- wouldn't want to spoil any plot arcs before I've had a chance to write them!


End file.
